Branch Purge

Branch Purge is a standalone local Git branch cleanup tool. It starts a localhost web UI for searching, filtering, selecting, and deleting local branches in any Git repository.

The default mode is local-only. It reads existing local refs and remote-tracking refs without contacting the network. Fetching and pruning remote-tracking refs only happens when requested explicitly.

Install

From this repository, install the package binary globally:

npm install -g .

For local development, you can link the package instead:

npm link

Verify the CLI is available:

branch-purge --help

Usage

Install from npm:

npm install -g branch-purge

Then run:

branch-purge serve --repo /path/to/repo --base dev

Run from this repository:

node src/cli.mjs serve --repo /path/to/repo --base dev

Or use the package binary after linking or installing:

branch-purge serve --repo /path/to/repo --base dev

Options:

--repo PATH      Git repository to inspect. Defaults to the current directory.
--base BRANCH    Branch used for merged status. Defaults to dev, main, master, then current.
--fetch          Run git fetch --prune once before starting the server.
--port PORT      Local server port. Defaults to a random open port.
--no-open        Do not open the browser automatically.

Safety Model

• Uses git branch -d for normal local branch deletion.
• Requires explicit force mode in the UI before using git branch -D.
• Protects the current branch, base branch, main, master, and dev.
• Does not delete remote branches.
• Does not run git fetch --prune unless --fetch is passed or the UI refresh button is confirmed.
• Binds the web server to 127.0.0.1 and requires an ephemeral request token for mutating browser requests.

Development

npm test

Check the package contents before publishing:

npm run pack:dry-run

Publishing

Only maintainers with npm package access can publish a release.

npm version patch
npm publish